


Ending the Origin Story

by loudspeakr



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Anal Sex, Eventual Smut, Family, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-28
Updated: 2016-07-28
Packaged: 2018-07-27 06:57:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7608256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loudspeakr/pseuds/loudspeakr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He thought having superhuman abilities would help make things simpler. He couldn't be more wrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ending the Origin Story

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Rhink Summer Ficathon 2k16! My prompt was 'Out Of The Woods' by Taylor Swift (which incidentally is now my most-played song by a good couple hundred plays).
> 
> The song then prompted (hurhur) me to remember [an awesome superhero AU](http://dickiebirds.tumblr.com/post/145783242817/rhett-link-superhero-au-rhett-and-link-have) written by [the lovely Krin](http://dickiebirds.tumblr.com), who was also kind enough to be my beta for this fic (and with whom I share a weird amount of similarities, heh). Thanks so much for your help, beb! <3

_Rhett McLaughlin opens his eyes with a start. It’s dark all around him, nightfall, a cool wind whipping at his face. The stars above blink down at him, watching on as the boy comes to. Confused, Rhett sits up. His head is pounding, hands brushing the crops that grow beside him – wheat, he realises. His mind reaches back, and he remembers: he’d been at his best friend’s house, sitting side by side on the couch with Link Neal, a notepad between them. It makes his head hurt, but slowly he pieces it back together. They’d been hanging out, writing their screenplay. And it was going well, until... Rhett focuses, trying harder with the picture suddenly blurry, just out of reach._

_The moonlight is bright enough that he can see around him: no paths of trodden stalks, his backpack nowhere to be found, not even his bike. Somewhere beyond the field, an owl calls out, shaking loose another memory: yelling. Link had been yelling. Rhett cringes; anger doesn’t sit well on Link’s kind face. The wind rustles the grass around him, an unease stirring in his gut. They’d had a fight. A bad one. And Rhett had fled, unwilling to deal with it, unwilling to take the wrath of the person he cared about most in the world. But after that, there’s nothing, no connect between then and now._

_Rhett picks himself up off the ground, finding the gash on his knee, ugly and bright red, thankful that Link isn’t here to see it. Brushing himself off, a blunt pain still rattling around in his skull, he finds his bearings and turns towards home._

 

* * *

Rhett wakes to sunlight warming his face. The sensation is pleasant, rousing him from a long, undisturbed sleep. He rolls over, his cheek against the cool fabric of his pillow, relishing in its comfort before stretching out the coiled muscles in his back.

These days, there are no set alarms on phones. No internal guilt trips at the sound of faraway sirens, or urges to pore over morning news headlines. Those days are long gone, and in its place, a mentality that Rhett painstakingly drilled into himself, that he is no longer needed by the world. It was a tough pill to swallow at first; Rhett has always been a naturally altruistic person, his youth spent answering other people’s cries for help. Things are different nowadays.

The mouth-watering scent of sizzling bacon wafts into the room first, followed by the muted padding of bare feet on carpet. Rhett throws the duvet over his head, shielding himself, as the bedroom door swings open and the footsteps stop at the end of the bed.

“Bo,” a voice calls softly. “Breakfast is almost ready.”

Rhett tries to ignore it, letting the thrum of its heartbeat lull him back to sleep. But he jumps at the tickle of a light touch along the underside of his foot: the jig is up. Reluctantly, he throws the covers back, the cool air hitting the bare skin of his chest. The heartbeat falters, skipping before picking up its pace. Rhett grins, despite himself.

“Hi there,” he manages, punctuating himself with a yawn. It draws a laugh from the man looking down at him.

Rhett knows he could never tire of looking at his handsome husband. This morning in particular, he wears a slim t-shirt that hugs his figure just right, with flannel pants hung low on his hips, showing off a hint of the messy trail of hairs that lead downward from his belly button. The thought of their destination is the best kind of wake-up call.

A loud, insistent cough startles Rhett out of his daydream. Standing over him, Link plants his hands on his hips, his head cocked to one side, feigning annoyance. Rhett sits up, noting the friskiness behind the man’s skewed glasses.

“Are you going to get up,” Link starts, taunting. “Or do I have to make you?”

“I don’t think you could make me if you tried.”

He watches as a cocky grin spreads across Link’s face, eyes darkening at the challenge. A sinew in his neck pulls taut.

“Is that so?”

Rhett braces himself for the attack he knows is coming, pulling Link up easily to catch the man’s mouth with his own. Bodies colliding, Link wrestles with Rhett’s larger frame, hands scrambling for warmth, for his touch, for whatever he can have. And Rhett has it ready for him, all of it, everything.

Securing his arms around Link’s waist, Rhett hugs his husband close. After years of being together, Rhett likes to think he has a better hold on himself nowadays. When Link suffered a sprained wrist one time at Rhett’s hand, a complete accident, he’d been wracked with remorse. Thankfully, the injury could be explained off to his broad stature, that he’d simply rolled over onto Link’s arm awkwardly. He knew, though, that the real cause had been his loss of control. That day, Rhett vowed he would never again be the cause of Link’s pain, and ever since, he’s kept a tight leash on himself, knowing it would take nearly nothing for him to inflict damage. It was for Link’s own safety, he reasoned, letting his husband set the pace every time. Over time, Rhett eventually found there was almost nothing a quick shower alone couldn’t fix. And though truthfully he knew it was a little excessive, he didn’t mind if it meant ensuring Link’s safety.

Rhett splays his fingers in the small of Link’s back, feeling the muscles there flex and stretch. Then, like a flipped switch, Link’s desperate kisses slow and melt into something milder, his tongue lazily flicking at Rhett’s. Rhett brings his hand up to Link’s cheek, cupping it in his palm and feeling the warmth that resonates there. Leaning into the touch, Link’s arms give way, and he rests his weight on Rhett, his lips settling for the pulse under Rhett’s jaw.

It’s one thing to be able to hear his husband’s heartbeat respond to him; it’s another entirely to _feel_ it. The muscle beats steadily against Rhett’s ribcage, a relentless little thing, as sure as the sun rising and setting each day.

Its simple rhythm soothes him, as Link collapses beside him, an arm slung lazily across Rhett’s chest. The sunlight streaming through their window scatters flecks of gold through Link’s dark hair, and as he settles down, the blue of his eyes grow more pronounced against the light. It isn’t the first time Rhett sends up a prayer of thanks to whatever watches over them from above; after living without the real thing for so long, he likes to think the gods blessed him with his own little piece of sky down here on Earth in the form of Link Neal's eyes.

They spend the next few minutes in comfortable silence, Rhett watching as Link’s pupils return to their normal size. He drags his thumb across Link’s lip before speaking.

“Did you say something about breakfast?”

Link guffaws, swatting at him before getting up. “You’re unbelievable.”

* * *

 

_One week later, Rhett wakes with a fever. It sits behind his eye sockets, a tender ache. Voice hoarse from sleep, he yells for his mother, wanting her approval to stay home from school. But, as he pushes his blankets back in one fluid motion, he flinches: the room is cold, unbearably so, igniting a pain akin to being burned alive. He gasps for air, breathing in more of that white-hot fire, as his mother bursts into the room. She flits over his body as Rhett continues to scream, agony gripping at every muscle, erratically convulsing of their own accord._

_His hysteria soon has his father running up the stairs, and a quick press of his hand against his son’s forehead confirms the worst: Rhett is sick with something terrible. Helpless, petrified, Rhett’s father calls for an ambulance, while his mother swaddles her child in every blanket and duvet they have. The medics are ushered furiously into the house, and through his tears, Rhett can see the terror in his mother’s eyes as he’s hoisted onto a stretcher._

_He keeps the mental picture of her face close, clinging onto it with all that he has left, certain that death will have come for him by day’s end._

 

* * *

All five kids – Lily, Locke, Lincoln, Shepherd, and little Lando – are already gathered around the dining table when Rhett finally makes his way downstairs. They chatter excitedly, tossing pieces of toast to one another and passing jars of peanut butter and jam, when they see their father finally emerge.

“Daddy!”

The second-youngest, Shepherd, is first to meet him, running up with his arms raised. Rhett lifts him easily up into the air, placing a light kiss on the boy’s forehead through his shaggy blond locks.

“Hey, little man. What’s for breakfast?” The boy flashes his teeth, presenting the half-chewed mess of jam and toast inside his mouth. Rhett chuckles at the sight. “Looks like you’ve almost eaten it all – leave some for me!”

After setting his son down and greeting the rest of his children, Rhett heads into the kitchen, where Link is serving the last of their shared fry-up. The room is in complete disarray, ingredients scattered all over, uncooked omelette spilt on the countertop. For a self-proclaimed neat freak, Link is the messiest cook Rhett has ever known, but he kisses the nape of Link’s neck and keeps his mouth closed. Link turns and gives him a knowing look, amusement written all over his face, before passing Rhett his plate of eggs and bacon.

The television is already switched on when Rhett re-joins his children at the table. Every morning, when he watches the morning news bulletin, he struggles against his conscience, that dormant part of himself he abandoned long ago. It’s the ruckus of his young family around him that always brings him back, grounding him in more ways than one. So just like every other morning, Rhett steels himself for the onslaught of guilt that is sure to come.

There’s no preparing himself for what comes instead.

_“Some call them heroes, others call them menaces to society. But what they no longer are now is anonymous, as the identities of countless crime-fighting individuals around the world were exposed overnight in the largest scale cyberattack in history. Government agency servers were hacked last night by an unknown culprit, releasing the highly classified details to the general public via an untraceable online forum. While authorities continue their search for the offender, the world has offered a mix of responses…”_

Rhett is on his feet before he knows it, his chair clattering to the floor behind him.

It’s been over a decade since Rhett hung his cape up – so to speak – for the last time. He’d once been a national icon, a household name, globally renowned for his remarkable feats of strength and bravery. Though he loved what he did, it was never the fame that drove him; the attention always made him uncomfortable. Rhett just always liked helping others, and in the end, he thought it would be his true calling.

But it wasn’t meant to last.

Rhett remembers it well: he had just flown home to North Carolina after finishing up a job in Slovakia. He’d been desperate for a cool shower, his back soaked in sweat and aching after having spent too long in his rigid flight posture, when Link arrived home from his own job. But before Rhett had the chance to spin the tale of his alleged business trip, his then-fiancé sat him down on their tattered couch. It was there in the middle of their Fuquay one-bedroom apartment that Link delivered the news: their surrogate had just given birth, it was a baby girl named Lily, and they had an appointment in three days to meet her. Link’s leg never stopped jiggling against his, the excitement coming off him in waves. Three days later, they’d managed to pack up their belongings and drove westward across the country to meet their new daughter, starting their life together as a family of three.

It was the day that changed everything.

Upon hearing the commotion, Link hurries in from the kitchen.

“Honey, what’s wrong?” A few quick strides, and he’s already at Rhett’s back, picking up the chair and laying a concerned hand on his husband’s shoulder. Rhett tenses minutely at the contact.

“Nothing. Nothing’s wrong. Just this–“ He gestures at the TV, struggling for an explanation. “This is nuts.”

Beside him, Link watches for a moment, then shakes his head. “I don’t know. I think it’s good.”

“What?”

“Well, at least we know them now. They could’ve been anyone – our neighbours, our colleagues, _hardened criminals_.” Rhett would have laughed at the way Link emphasised his last point, if he didn’t feel so distraught instead. “Now it’s an even playing field.”

Despite his incredulity at Link’s words, Rhett understands why his husband would think this way. Link had grown up an anxious only child, with father after stepfather walking in and out of his life. Mistrust and caution were once been his best friends. And though this paranoia did subside in the years after they met, it still lay buried deep down in Link’s subconscious, revealing itself in unexpected ways from time to time. In choosing to walk this life with him, Rhett ultimately conceded that it was just something that would always be a part of their lives. Acknowledging this, however, didn’t make him feel any more comfortable with his husband’s lack of sympathy.

Rhett throws another hand at the rolling montage of his former peers, silently praying to the gods that he doesn’t see his own face.

“What about them? What about their safety?”

Reaching up, Link gives him a peck on the cheek. “They’re superheroes – how bad could it be?”

* * *

 

_By some miracle, Rhett eventually gets better. He regains his grasp on reality more and more with each passing day, with his fever rendering him unconscious half of the time and delusional for the rest. By the twelfth day, though they never find the source of Rhett’s sudden illness, the slow disappearance of his symptoms convinces the doctors that they have cured him somehow, and so they deem him well enough to return home. Rhett is discharged, much to the relief of his parents, who stayed with him day and night, his mother praying by his side any moment she could spare._

_Link visits him later the same day, staring at his poor best friend still bundled up in layers, spilling apologies until his eyes are raw with tears. He’s sorry they fought, he’s sorry he couldn’t come visit him at the hospital – his mother had said a vehement no – he’s sorry, he’s sorry, he’s sorry. To all of this, Rhett merely shrugs, covers Link’s trembling hands with his own, tells him there is nothing to forgive. They’re together again – that’s all that matters._

_Soon enough, Rhett comes back to school. His classmates talk enthusiastically around him about this mystery illness of his, asking him questions – most of which Rhett isn’t sure how to answer – and filling him in on what he’s missed in his absence. The spring dance is coming up, he’s reminded, and most of his classmates have already paired off by the time Rhett has to choose. When he asks Link of his own plans for the dance, Link blushes, admitting he has asked Amber to be his date. That night, as he replays their conversation in his head, Rhett punches a hole clean through the garage wall, bricks and mortar crumbling to dust before his eyes. He tells Link the next day that the bruises on his knuckles are from punching through the plaster of his bedroom wall after an argument with his father._

_Rhett isn’t sure why he lied._

 

* * *

The park is surprisingly busy when Rhett arrives there with three of his children.

It had been decided after breakfast that the two eldest boys, Lincoln and Locke, would accompany Link to the mall, while Rhett took Lily, Shepherd and Lando to the park. They would later all meet for lunch once the errands were finished. _The fresh air will be good for you_ , Link told them all, throwing a cursory glance at his husband for good measure. The pointed comment troubled Rhett, sure that he’d slipped up this morning with his unusual reaction. Though he was certain Link wouldn’t be able to put the two together, his being any closer to the truth of his hidden identity made Rhett feel apprehensive nonetheless

Amid the other park-goers, Rhett sits alone hunched over his smartphone, trying in vain to find the original leak. The news has left him reeling, shaken at the prospect of being uncovered. Some of his peers had embraced the change, he read on the walk over, holding press conferences and organising exclusive interviews with the news networks that would have them. Which is all of them, it seems. Rhett always hated the word, but there’s no other way to describe it: the world had suddenly gone crazy with superhero fever.

But Rhett noticed a pattern: these people were younger than him, most of them in their mere twenties, yet to settle down, still raring to take on the world. In contrast, Rhett had grown tired a long time ago. He’s getting older now, no doubt, but there are also six other people in his life to worry about, as well as his extended family back home. Standing before the press with a secret this potentially catastrophic just isn’t something he can do anymore.

Once upon a time, stress like this had been a drug to Rhett. He felt it on his way to a mission, soaring over oceans, no land in sight for as far as his eyes could see. He felt it every time he saw the flare of a roaring fire billowing from a collapsed building, the screams of people needing his help coming from inside. He felt it minutes before he met Link at the altar, pacing back and forth in one of the back rooms while he waited for time to pass, his slim black tie too tight around his neck for him to stay calm. Rhett always liked the struggle, striving towards a seemingly impossible goal. Falling out of the sky while he learned to control his flight had been his first taste, and ever since, he let that sweet rush of adrenaline – or whatever alien substance it was – lead him onwards with every new adventure he took on.

Keeping an ear out for his children, Rhett continues to scroll through webpages, reading useless articles on the cyberattack that give him no real details in return. Truthfully, despite all of his talents and past exploits, modern technology still lies a little beyond his grasp. His daughter Lily is usually the one to help him navigate online, earning herself some pocket money on the side for doing so. She’s clever for her age, warm and generous, his baby girl. He wonders idly what she would think of him if she knew his secret. Would she be frightened of him? Would she cry or scream for him to get away?

Rhett shakes the ugly thoughts from his head, when a shrill cry from the playground steals his attention. He looks through the crowd of children for his own before he locates them; all three sit perched on the climbing equipment, watching on as a toddler on the ground shrieks for her mother. Instinctively, Rhett goes over to the girl, crouching down beside her.

“Hi there.” Rhett keeps his voice low, not wanting to spook the girl, a gentle smile on his face. She looks up at him with wide, misty eyes. “What’s the matter?”

Pouting, she points to her knee. There he finds a small collection of scratches, the skin around it torn and lifted.

“There, there. It’s alright.”

She cries loudly again, attracting more attention from passers-by. Rhett ducks his head, hiding his face as a precaution, and thinks for a moment.

“How about we try something? Is that okay?”

The girl merely whimpers in response, so Rhett gently places his hand over the wound. He shuts his eyes, concentrating on the flow of energy and directing it to his fingertips. He hasn’t done this in years, but it comes back to him like a breath of fresh air, exhilarating him. When he feels the last tendrils finally leave him, sapping at his reserve of strength, he slowly pulls back to reveal the clean, unbroken skin beneath, a healthy flush of pink left there instead. The girl stops crying, hiccups, and looks at him again, awestruck.

It’s then that her mother comes rushing over. She fusses over her child, asking what happened. Rhett gives her all the answers she needs, polite and brief, all the while watching the girl silently process what just occurred. The three of them stand – the mother still thanking Rhett profusely for his help – and the two begin to walk away. The girl throws him one last glance over her shoulder and gives him a nod, almost imperceptible, a smile playing on her lips, before they’re gone entirely.

Pleased with himself, Rhett turns in time to see Lily staring at him from atop the climbing wall, an unreadable expression on her face.

“Hey, Lil.” Ignoring the anxious buzzing in his head, he attempts to disguise his distress from his daughter. “Are you having fun?”

There’s a beat before she answers him.

“Yeah, Daddy. Thanks for taking us here.” She placates him with a quick flash of teeth before her eyes zero in on Rhett’s pocket. “You’re getting a call,” she quips before running off to play.

Digging out his phone, the screen lights up, the ID reading Unknown Caller. He answers it with a hesitant swipe.

“Hello? Who is this?”

“Rhett? Is that you?” It’s a woman, the hurried voice on the other end sounding oddly familiar. Rhett checks over his shoulder to make sure he’s still alone before responding.

“ _Who is this?_ ”

“It’s Stevie.” He breathes out a sigh of relief. Stevie had been his contact at the Agency back before he retired, having discovered his identity by accident whilst working on one of her cases. Promising to keep his secret, they ended up striking a deal: he would track down and apprehend internationally-wanted criminals for her, occasionally gaining intel with her resources whenever he needed it. Nobody else knew of their working relationship, and in their secrecy, Rhett and Stevie became close friends, quickly becoming each other’s confidants. They’d lost contact over the years after Rhett went into hiding, afraid their work together would be jeopardised if discovered. “How are you doing?”

The knot of tension between Rhett’s shoulder blades loosens a little at the sound of her voice.

“Yeah, not gonna lie. Could be better.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Things must be bad if you’re calling me.”

Straight down to business, they’re the same as ever. “Look, I haven’t heard or seen anything even remotely related to you or Tre–“

“Don’t,” he cuts in, cringing at almost hearing his hero name again after all these years. It wasn’t something he’d chosen for himself like many of his peers had the privilege of doing these days. Because he operated at a time before any real procedure could be established, his adoring public chose his name for him, its popularity spreading like wildfire. Rhett never took to it, but he dolefully tolerated it for all of those who looked up to him.

In the end, losing the name turned out to be one of the better perks of retiring.

“I’ve been going through the files all morning, Rhett – there’s nothing.”

“You know they could be holding this back. I was a big deal back in the day, Stevie. We put a lot of people away.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Rhett hears Stevie sigh, as he looks up to check on his children. Lando is chasing Shepherd around the playground while Lily watches on, cheering for her youngest brother. He turns away from them, eyes beginning to water.

“I can’t lose them, Stevie. I won’t risk it.”

She seems to know what he’s talking about. “I honestly think it’s fine, but I’ll keep looking, man.”

“Thanks.” He pauses, thinking. “And hey, it’s good to hear from you. Maybe we should catch up after all this.”

Her smile practically reaches through the phone. “Yeah, that’d be nice.”

“Well, okay.”

“Okay.” And the line goes dead, skipping the goodbyes just like the old days.

Peering down at the tiny screen in his hand, Rhett looks over Stevie’s number with a touch of nostalgia. There’s a pang of regret; he put his faith in Stevie, and she never let him down, biting the proverbial bullet for him time and time again. And even so, when the time came, he let her go without so much as a warning or a last goodbye, shedding their friendship like an old skin. So without a second thought, he hits Add to Contacts and fills in her name before putting the phone away again.

It’s the surprise of Lando running into his leg, squealing wildly with laughter, that snaps him out of his contemplation.

“Lunchtime, Papa?”

Rhett’s stomach rumbles its assent. “Good idea, buddy.”

* * *

 

_In the weeks leading up to the dance, Link and Amber become something of an item. They begin spending more and more time together, leaving Rhett to his own devices as his body starts to change. He hits his growth spurt, growing taller than even his own father, towering over the entire basketball team. He starts to win his breath-holding competitions with his older brother whenever they go to the pool by longer margins each time. He goes running each night after he finishes his homework and comes home unexhausted, not a bead of sweat on his shaven head._

_It’s all very anticlimactic, until one night, as Rhett is sneaking out to meet some friends after curfew, he slips and falls out of his second-storey bedroom window. When there’s a notable lack of anything – a collision, pain,_ anything _– he’s shocked to find himself hovering in mid-air between his open window and the ground below. Concentrating, Rhett somehow wills himself downwards, landing on the grass silently and gracefully. He spends each following day out at the river, a little ways down from where he and Link would talk, honing his newfound abilities and discovering new ones as well. He keeps to himself, careful not to attract unwelcome attention from potential intruders._

_Lying in bed one night, Rhett thinks of Link and how thrilled he would be to learn about his best friend’s new powers. But the thought of bad people – their wanting Rhett for his abilities, and Link as well for knowing – makes him change his mind. It then occurs to him that even Link can’t know about this, and for the first time since it happened, Rhett feels truly alone._

 

* * *

Downtown is a more chaotic bustle than usual when the four of them arrive at the restaurant for lunch. The news had created quite a stir around the city; Rhett overheard many conversations about it during their walk from the park, and while a good percentage of people he heard spoke positively about it, expressing support for the “super-folk” or – better yet, in Rhett’s mind – indifference, there were still a frustrating few who shared Link’s enthusiasm over their exposure. The worst they encountered was a man preaching to a gathered crowd, loudspeaker in hand, angrily calling for the prosecution and even execution of these “unmasked villains”. Fists balled up at his sides, Rhett fought back the urge to engage, keeping his head down instead and hurrying his children along on either side of him.

Through the busy restaurant, Rhett quickly spots Lincoln and Locke sitting alone at a large table in the corner, a basket of breadsticks between them. He greets them both with a smile and a ruffling of their heads before taking a seat himself.

“Where’s your father?” Rhett takes another look around, searching for dark sideswept hair and finding nothing.

“Went to the bathroom,” Lincoln mumbles through the bread in his mouth, making Locke laugh beside him.

After being on edge all morning, Rhett decides to try and forget about what’s happening just for the moment, wanting a moment of peace before the world possibly collapses around him. So he claps his hands together and gets the kids’ attention.

“Alright, what’s everyone having?”

The six of them spend the next few minutes perusing the menu; Lincoln and Lando are set on chicken nuggets and fries, Lily wants a burger just like her daddy, Shepherd spots a cocktail – _the pretty rainbow drink_ – across the way and begs Rhett for one of those, and Locke is still undecided. A waitress eventually comes by, offering to take their order, but Rhett waves her away, wondering about his husband. It’s been a good fifteen minutes since they arrived, yet Link still hasn’t returned, his seat left cold and empty between Lando and Locke.

“Lily, baby.” Her bright eyes – Link’s eyes – meet his. “Watch your brothers. I’ll be right back.”

She nods obediently, as Rhett excuses himself. He threads his way through the other patrons, headed for the bathroom, focusing himself for any sign or sound of Link. Opening the bathroom door is futile – Rhett can’t hear that steady heartbeat in there – but he does so, regardless, to be thorough. He finds nothing but vacant stalls and a puddle of water on the tiled floor.

The thought comes before Rhett can push it back – _no, not that_ – and he hurries back to his children, his panic quickly rising. They don’t seem to catch onto their father’s anxiety.

“Kids,” he says, twisting at the fabric of his sleeves in his impatience. “We gotta go.” He’s met with a chorus of disappointment, the sight of their faces momentarily breaking his heart. It’s but a lit match in the inferno. “You can have lunch at Uncle Chase’s house.”

Thanking his past self for getting a second set of car keys, Rhett hastily flees the restaurant, his children in tow, and gathers them into their SUV, Locke and Lincoln leading the way. Belts are barely buckled in before they’re speeding off.

“But Daddy, where’s Dad?” Locke calls from the backseat, frowning when Rhett looks at him in the rear-view mirror.

As much as he hates to lie, Rhett won’t let his twelve-year-old son in on the images running through his head. He soothes the boy as best he can. “He had to go home unexpectedly, son. I just need to go help him with something, but I’ll pick you guys up later.” His answer seems to settle him, his focus swiftly taken away by one of his brothers.

While the boys chat among themselves in the back, Rhett notices his daughter in the passenger seat next to him. Her hands are folded neatly on her lap, vaguely looking out the window, keeping quiet.

“Lily, what’s wrong?”

She turns to him then, her jaw set. “I know, Daddy.”

“What do you mean?” he whispers, careful to maintain his poker face.

“Something’s up with Dad.”

“Oh.” Rhett lets out a shaky breath; it’s not his secret. “No, baby. That’s not it.”

Her reply is swift and harsh. “I’m thirteen, Dad, not stupid.”

Before he can let himself scold her, Rhett realises she is right. Lily is a teenager now, their first one, and she is capable of being trusted with the truth.

“Yeah. Yeah, okay.” She looks up at him again, eyes going wide, her mouth falling open in surprise at his admission. “But he’s going to be okay. I’m gonna go save him, help him. You just watch your brothers for me, okay?”

Rhett reaches for her hand and grasps it tightly in his, holding it on his knee as he drives. The simple gesture has him scared for the first time, his pulse picking up at the thought of failure. It’s drowned out by a single sob, as Lily cries quietly in her seat before sniffling and falling silent again.

“Sure, Dad. Always.”

* * *

 

_Rhett arrives at the school dance, alone. He had wanted to ride with Link, but it would have been a bad idea to tag along with him and Amber, no date of his own to offset the awkwardness. Sticking to the walls, Rhett is cradling his lukewarm cup of punch when he sees Link finally walk in. A sky-blue bowtie tucked under his collar, he matches his date in her lace dress. They’re a vision standing side by side, Rhett thinks, her arm threaded through his. Link spots him from across the room and leaves his date briefly to greet his best friend, spending a few minutes catching up on the past few weeks. It feels nice to talk again; the thought of them having drifted apart somewhat pains Rhett, especially after Link had apologised for staying away. But he knows his friend isn’t doing this out of spite – Link is in love, Rhett realises with a horrified start._

_He eventually lets his friend go, watching him run back to Amber on the dancefloor, and together they slow-dance under the swirling lights. Rhett feels unwell all of the sudden, the blaring music and stale school-gym air now too much for him to bear, so he pushes past his mingling classmates and leaves the building, the cool night air a welcome change around him. He’s sitting in the parking lot, waiting for his mother to pick him up, when there’s a flurry of footsteps on the pavement behind him. He looks back to find Link running up to him, his bowtie hanging loose around his neck, red-faced and panting in his hurry. Shocked, Rhett stands to meet him, but before he can utter a word, Link pulls him in and presses a kiss on his lips. It’s sweet and chaste, and Rhett doesn’t think it can get any better until he hears the drumming of Link’s racing heart, nervous and alive, against his chest. He’s cheated death more times than a sixteen-year-old ever should, but this – this might just do it._

 

* * *

Rhett is thanking his lucky stars when he finds Chase at home. After giving the man a rushed, half-hearted explanation for the surprise visit, their long-time family friend eventually agrees to watch them until Rhett is ready to return. Pressing a small wad of cash into Chase’s hand to look after his children’s expenses, Rhett shares one last glance with Lily, her bright face filling him with renewed determination.

_Time to go back to work._

Soon enough, Rhett is screeching into his own driveway, throwing the car door closed behind him. He almost lets himself go at full-speed across his front yard, an impulse he still finds himself resisting on a regular basis, but the single strand of common-sense he has left holds him back. _This is not the time to be found out._

It’s quiet when Rhett steps inside, no other heartbeat to be heard anywhere. Link has a habit of closing the curtains every time they leave the house – “ _Burglars are more likely to strike homes they can see into_ ,” Link had told him matter-of-factly some time ago, and Rhett had to laugh at the paradox of stealing from the home of an indestructible superhuman – so the living room is cast in eerie shadow.

Something is off, the change subtle enough that it hasn’t yet caught Rhett’s attention. So he hovers over the floorboards as if this isn’t his home, and for the moment, it isn’t. Without Link beside him, it’s just another crime scene to be left untouched.

Finding nothing amiss on the bottom floor, Rhett heads upstairs. The kids’ rooms are still closed off, left as they were this morning, and a quick look inside confirms it. That leaves only his and Link’s bedroom, the final room at the end of the corridor. Their door is askew, Rhett notices, eyeing it warily as he approaches.

He isn’t sure what he expected: their things to be rifled through in a heap on the floor, his personal safe broken into with all of his treasures missing, some clue – _anything_ – to help him find the one treasure that really mattered. Rhett finds none of those, his room so perfectly in place that it hurts.

But that’s when he notices it: a ball of paper, scrunched up and half-hidden behind Link’s bedside table. He unfurls it with shaky hands.

 

> **I know what you are.**

It’s handwritten, letters scrawling in hurried print. Rhett’s stomach turns at the sight of its hard lines, blotched and careless. He sits on the edge of his bed, ruffling the duvet that Link had meticulously pulled tight. The note weighs heavily in his clasped hands, its message saying nothing and everything.

His secret is out. Somebody knows. And that somebody has taken Link.

The very thought makes his skin crawl. Someone else’s hands on Link. Someone hurting Link. Someone wanting Link dead. Gritting his teeth, Rhett buries his face on his hands, teetering on the verge of tears. Rhett has never lost before, and now he’s about to lose everything.

_No._

The voice is clear, familiar blue eyes flashing before him in his mind’s eye. Rhett balls his fists up and stands from the bed, resolute. If he loses Link, it all would’ve been for nothing: the fear, the hiding, the dishonesty. After all, Link is the reason Rhett always came home, the catalyst of his every victory. His existence is exactly why Rhett is still alive today.

He’s fought in the past for countless others, people he’ll never see again. He can fight again now, for himself, for their children, for Link.

Stowing the note carefully in his pocket, Rhett decides his first stop should be the place where it all began. If someone wants to toy with him like this, it’s a good place to start.

It’s his home turf, and Rhett has the advantage.

* * *

 

_Rhett and Link start dating after the dance, finally admitting their mutual attraction for one another. As the two of them work through the rest of high school, Rhett spends what little time he has now to himself perfecting his flight and testing his limits. One day after school, he elevates to the highest altitude he can bear, finding he can make it to the outermost layer of their atmosphere, only just, with gravity so close to relinquishing its grasp on him._

_Eventually, the boys graduate to an audience of their classmates and proud families. They are both accepted into and attend North Carolina State University, where they both pick up courses in Engineering, Link in Industrial and Rhett in Civil. Between college classes and visits back home to Buies Creek, Rhett begins his unorthodox career as a masked vigilante. He starts off small, locating lost pets and returning stolen bikes, leaving them on doorsteps anonymously for their owners to find._

_However, one day, Rhett stumbles across a robbery happening across the street from the café where he is having lunch. The occasion calls for a bigger hero, something Rhett hasn’t been comfortable calling himself just yet, so he dons the balaclava he keeps safe in his back pocket and sneaks into the building through the back door. Catching the criminals off-guard, Rhett easily subdues the four of them, binding them to a post with their own handcuffs. He’s about to flee the scene, police sirens wailing in the distance, when he notices the wide-eyed gaze of a young boy peeking out from behind the counter. Behind him are two others: the shopkeeper and the boy’s father. They all stare at him in wonder, having witnessed a knife slash at his skin and him coming out unscathed. He freezes, unsure how to react. He makes for the door when he hears the boy utter a thank-you. Smiling, he wishes the three of them well before taking off into the air from the store’s front entrance, leaving behind a shocked crowd of policemen and onlookers._

_Rhett chooses not to read about his antics the next morning when he sees the newspaper sitting on the kitchen table. Instead, he puts on his jacket and heads out the door to meet Link down by the river._

 

* * *

It turns out Rhett’s flying capabilities have grown rusty in the decade he spent with his feet planted firmly on the ground. Lift-off takes a few attempts to get right, but soon, Rhett is soaring easily through the air as if he never stopped. He raises his fists out in front of him, arms outstretched in that ridiculous pose he always sees in comic books, laughing giddily at the feeling of thin air fresh in his lungs. If the circumstances were any different, Rhett would be doing loop-the-loops and freefalls, celebrating his freedom. After all, it’s been a long time since he last felt the clouds against his fingertips.

Instead, Rhett flies on, skimming over the cloud cover so as to obscure himself from the world below. He ducks under the condensation every now and then to track his progress, making sure he doesn’t overshoot his destination. The climate gets cooler the further he flies east, the trees growing denser and more deeply green, entire expanses of forestation in his field of vision. Even from up here, Rhett can smell the wooded land, the very essence of his childhood, reacquainting himself with the complex bouquet of aromas he has loved all his life. And when the peaks of Blue Ridge greet him from the horizon, great and majestic, a rush of affection overwhelms him: he’s home.

The weather is forgiving below the troposphere when Rhett finally lands among the towering oaks of his home state. The damp air presses in on him, as he speeds on foot through the vegetation, heading towards Cape Fear. He doesn’t stop when he hits the riverside, the flowing water lapping up at him as if to welcome him back. There is no time to give into nostalgia.

The talking rocks – his first stop – are bare and unoccupied when Rhett reaches them some minutes later. He doesn’t linger for long, resisting the way the trickling river-water brings on a deluge of past conversations held here between the two of them. Methodically, Rhett clears his mind and moves onto the next location, using the distraction of travel to keep himself from unravelling.

The last time he and Link were in the cow pasture, they had stood together in the grass, palms slashed, blood seeping from the wounds. They’d snuck out during the night, a flashlight to share between the two of them. His then-friend breathed through the nausea of seeing the crimson liquid leave his body, of Rhett holding his cut to Link’s and melding them together. _Blood brothers._ Link had flinched at the contact as if he’d been stung, Rhett recalls, shaking his hand about violently. Rhett stopped him and dressed the wound with the only bandage he remembered to bring. Then, while the boy calmed down, he held Link’s hand in his unharmed one, wordlessly caressing the bound palm in apology.

Now, the paddock is empty: no livestock, no rusting machinery, no Link. Rhett takes the solitude as an opportunity to take stock of the situation. _Where else was there?_ He wouldn’t have gone home to their house in Fuquay; it was too public, too accessible. His captor could have taken him anywhere, hidden him away in any corner of the globe. Yet here Rhett stands, in the middle of an abandoned pasture, painfully alone.

It was a bad idea to come here in the first place, for Rhett to think Link would have been taken back to North Carolina of all places. But Rhett had felt something tug at him, beckoning him forward, bringing him home. There’s no explaining it, but after the life he’s led thus far, he’s ready to believe anything.

So Rhett picks a direction, choosing the way the sun leads him, and sets off once more.

* * *

 

_After Lily’s arrival, Rhett finds a job at a production company just outside of downtown Los Angeles. He starts off as an assistant to one of the producers, but is quickly promoted through the ranks from occasional extra to one of the writers on their lead show. The work, though nothing compared to the rush of saving the world, is enjoyable and diverse, and it gives Rhett a new sense of purpose in his new life as an ordinary citizen._

_One year later, Locke is born, a little bundle of energy ready to burst, with hair the colour of Rhett’s childhood ash-brown. Next comes Lincoln, followed by Shepherd, and Lando makes them seven. His world becomes chaos of the best kind, a flurry of diving meets and drum lessons and play rehearsals. The McLaughlin-Neals move again out into a four-bedroom home in the Valley, and it’s there that Rhett thinks he has finally made it._

_This is what it feels like to be complete._

 

* * *

Rhett follows the insistent unearthly pull to a field of tall grass a few towns over. A lone highway borders the northern edge of the plot, its tarmac cracked and weathered, a yellow double-solid line painted down its length. On the opposite border stands a line of red maples, effectively fencing the property off from the next farm. The fields stretch out endlessly in between, disappearing over the hills on either side. The sun continues its descent, glowing large and orange, its rays touching the tops of the golden blades as Rhett looks on.

Scratching at the scruff on the back of his neck, Rhett wracks his brain, trying to understand why he’s been brought here. He’s never seen this place before, not to his recollection. _Keep going_ , the voice in his head whispers anyway. And so he obeys, stepping through the crop one foot after the other, walking at a regular man’s pace.

Dusk turns the sky a mottled purple when Rhett reaches the back of the paddock. He stops, patience waning, desperation left in its place. He began his journey fearful yet brimming with hope, and now he still had nothing to show for his efforts. Eyes stinging with frustration, Rhett claws at a nearby stalk and tears it out of the ground, grinding the head in his hand. He loosened his grip to find it reduced into an imperfect white powder.

It’s his wheat field.

Then something shakes Rhett out of his misery. A sound, a beat, reverberating through the grass. Rhett takes off sprinting, letting the noise enchant him. He clings to it, his only lead, until he thinks he’s closing in. There amid the crop, he finds a small clearing, stalks flattened and pushed aside, and in its centre sitting cross-legged is his husband, his Link.

Rhett lets out a gasp, startling the man, and quickly closes the gap between them. He gathers Link in his arms, holding him close, all the while examining him for any injuries. There’s nothing but elation radiant on Link’s face at being reunited with his soulmate.

“You’re here,” Link breathes and cradles Rhett’s face in his hands. Tears streaming now, Rhett kisses Link where he can, relishing the way Link wriggles against the tickle of his beard, quietly laughing at the sensation. _He’s here, he’s alive._

Then the moment catches up to him, and Rhett freezes, throwing a frightened Link behind him.

“ _Who did this?_ ” he demands, his voice a snarl, eyes darting through the wheat for the villain he seeks. “ _Where is he?_ ”

“Rhett!” Link pulls at his shoulder, his shrill plea breaking through Rhett’s fury. “Nobody – there’s nobody here!”

“Then how did you get here?” Link’s cheeks redden under Rhett’s scrutiny, his mouth pressed into a thin line, and Rhett’s heart all but stops. Rhett forces himself to calm down, softening his tone. “What’s wrong?”

Disentangling himself from his grasp, Rhett watches as Link takes a few steps back and shuts his eyes. He breathes in deeply, exhaling just the same, his face contorted as he struggles within himself. Then his eyes shoot open again, looking directly at Rhett. A tingling erupts in Rhett’s vision, exploding like fireworks, and spreads down to his toes and up again, culminating between his temples. It disorients him, almost feeling like a headache but pleasant, and then –

_Rhett._

The ethereal voice from earlier calls to him again, filling him with a deep sense of calm, washing away the fire that plagued his head only seconds before.

 _It’s me._ Confused, Rhett looks to his husband for an answer, and he’s met with an even, emotionless stare. _This is me._

“Link?” He catches on and shakes out of it, the sensation dispersing. “But how?”

“I was at the restaurant with the boys, and out of nowhere, my stomach wasn’t feeling great. So I left them and went to the bathroom, locked myself in a cubicle and tried to get whatever it was out of me. And then,” Link pauses, taking a second to think. “I must’ve fainted or something, and somehow I woke up here. Where–? Where are we?”

“Home. North Carolina.” A look of wonder dawns on Link’s face. “Actually, remember when I got sick? I was in the hospital for two weeks and they never found out what was wrong…?” Link’s nodding, his face caught up in the memory. “I was here the night before it hit me. I woke up in the dark, and the last thing I remembered was hanging out with you. And then I had all these powers, and it took me weeks to work them out…”

Rhett trails off, watching as Link processes the new information, his brow furrowed, a finger pressed against his bottom lip. “Wait, are you Tre–?”

“Don’t say it – just don’t.” Rhett shakes his head, cheeks reddening at the near-miss. Link bursts out with a giggle until a thought seems to occur to him.

“Hey, the blood pact… I got sick the next day, too. It didn’t last very long, not as long as yours, but everything you told me you felt? I ended up feeling it, too.” Rhett cringes, remembering the way his gift had hit him like a freight train. It’d been the most terrifying part of the experience: it having come out of nowhere. The pained look on Rhett’s face has Link backtracking. “It wasn’t as bad though, I don’t think. I only got a small bit of it. Whatever you got – _we_ got – it must’ve gotten in through our blood.”

“And your powers only just developed now, I guess?”

Link shrugs. “I suppose so – there’s no real science to this, is there?” His eyes harden slightly then, his hand slowly withdrawing from Rhett’s. “Why didn’t you tell me about what was going on? I was so happy when you came back to school – I missed you so much – but then you barely even said two words to me. This time, you were the one who stayed away.”

“You had Amber, Link. What was I supposed to do?”

“I didn’t have Amber. She was my friend, and she liked me, and I liked her, too, a little. But mostly, I went with her to spare her feelings. It was dumb – I know that now. Being around her made it worse, made me want _you_ a lot more.” Link fiddles with the wedding band around his finger, a nervous tic. “Why did you push me away in the first place?”

“I got scared,” Rhett admits. “I wanted to tell you so bad, you know? You’re my best friend. I wanted to take you over the clouds and show you what the sunset really looked like. But… all of the stuff that could’ve gone wrong. I couldn’t bring you into that. What if you hated me? What if I got found out? What if they saw us messing around and– I couldn’t bear it if they hurt you, Link. I didn’t want to think about what I would’ve done… what I would do if you–”

Tears beginning to prick at his eyes, Link shushes Rhett gently, gathering his husband in his arms. “I’m here now, babe.” Rhett lets himself be held, lets himself be the one being saved for once, as Link starts to hum a gentle tune in his ear. Then he remembers.

“If you weren’t kidnapped, then what’s this?” He fishes out the note from his pocket and presents it to Link, who reacts immediately.

“Is this– Is that Lily’s writing?”

Suddenly, it’s all too familiar: the whirls of her letters, the spaces she’s left, the cross of her T.

> **I know what you are.**

Those five words weren’t the threat that Rhett had believed they were.

The day’s events come back to him then in rapid succession: the way Lily saw Stevie’s call coming before Rhett had. Her quiet fear during the drive to Chase’s house. The way she looked at him at the door before he left her, his courage rebuilding under her gaze.

It was an epiphany.

“Link, she’s gifted, too.” As soon as the words leave his mouth, Rhett knows them to be true. “She can project like you, and I think… she can see the future or something.” He revisits their conversation in the car, the way she cried beside him, holding his hand. The pain in Rhett’s voice has Link sitting up. “Oh, god, Link. She was terrified. She must’ve thought something would happen to her as well. Our baby…”

“Love, you couldn’t have known.” Link says before breaking out in a smile, pride clear on his face. “So she’s like us, then?”

“Yes.” The thought has Rhett lighting up as well. “She’s like us.”

Night fell while they talked, a full white moon now looming over the two of them. It illuminates Link’s pale skin with a pearlescent sheen, light catching in the single teardrop trailing down Link’s cheek. Rhett catches it with the pad of his thumb, wiping it away with a caress. He looks up to find Link’s eyes trained on his, lips parted ever-so-slightly.

“Rhett, please.”

And he obliges, leaning forward, melding his lips to Link’s in a hard kiss, chasing away the sadness swimming in those blue eyes. Link bunches his fists up in Rhett’s t-shirt, pulls it up and over his head, and presses his hands against Rhett’s bare chest, needing, wanting all of it. And then Rhett feels something: a warmth, an ache – _longing_ – blooming underneath Link’s touch and spreading outward through his muscles, his lungs, settling in the bottom of his stomach. Rhett lets it sweep over him, taking Link’s slim waist under his hands, his palms impossibly large on the sharp curves of Link’s hips.

Link goes with him, lets himself be laid back as Rhett hovers over him, mouth wet and greedy on his face, moving down to his neck. Rhett finds the pulse there and leaves another kiss, quick and reverent, so filled with love that it makes Link tremble beneath him.

“So,” Rhett mumbles against the sensitive skin, as if he isn’t swirling his tongue around Link’s Adam’s apple. “What else can you do?”

“Um,” Link bites his lip, holding back a moan at Rhett’s ministrations. “So I think, uh, it’s a kind of telepathy. I mean, I can’t fully – _oh_ – read your mind now, but I get bits and pieces.” He groans then, fighting to keep himself in control. “And as you know, I can do –” _this_ , he finishes, emphasising his point with a spike of heat in Rhett’s abdomen. Rhett jerks back in surprise and shoots him a look before delving back in, beginning to undo Link’s shirt buttons. He continues the trail of kisses down his husband’s torso.

“Anything else?”

“I tried flying after I noticed these– whatever this is, nothing there. But I think I’m strong like you.”

“Oh, really now?” Rhett pulls back to see the mischievous grin on his husband’s face. “Let’s test that theory.”

Rhett growls then, a low rumbling from the back of his throat. All of a sudden, he isn’t Rhett anymore – in his place, a stranger, beastly and beautiful, a dark hunger burning in his eyes. His gaze keeps Link pinned down, unwilling to move. It’s silent for a little while, a battle of prey versus predator playing out between them, before Rhett pounces, quick as a flash, grabbing at Link’s shirt and ripping, the last of the buttons scattering into the grass. He sinks his teeth into Link’s bottom lip, digs his nails into the flesh of Link’s thigh, squeezing possessively. Then Rhett hooks his fingers into the denim and pulls that away as well, the jeans easily coming off in shreds. His own pants join them, torn away with one easy tug. Rhett tosses the ruined clothing aside, leaving them both bare-skinned under the moonlight.

The clear expanse of pale skin begs Rhett to leave his mark, so he closes his mouth on the skin of Link’s shoulder, sucking hard. The spot blossoms in a vivid red but Link only moans, so Rhett moves down to a nipple and sucks there, too. Link clutches at him, wanting the pain and the pleasure that comes with it.

Rhett would never have dreamed of going this far with Link, of loving him with tooth and nail, back before when everything was normal **.** But they are Rhett and Link: they’re the furthest thing from normal that this world will ever know, and Rhett has never been more thankful.

“Good.” Rhett startles at Link’s outburst, letting the confusion colour his face, adrenaline waning. Link smirks. “You’re right. We’re not ordinary at all. We– We’re _extraordinary_.”

And just like that, it’s all Rhett can do to keep from laughing, his carnality gone at the humour of Link’s deadpan tone. It isn’t long before Link is chuckling with him, the music of their laughter making everything perfect again.

This is when Rhett loves Link the most: when his laughter hits that wild high pitch, the corners of his eyes crinkling up, swaying with a joy he cannot hold in. He’s watched this version of Link grow up with him, while making funny recordings across the table over a tape recorder, traipsing over mountaintops on foot, from behind the lens of a handheld camera making family documentaries – from boy to man. And even after his spectacular life, a Link without inhibitions is still easily the best thing Rhett has ever seen.

His current state of undress doesn’t hurt either. Rhett glances downward to appreciate the hardness between his husband’s legs, the sight of pre-come leaking from the tip making him subconsciously wet his lips. Link blushes at the worship in Rhett’s eyes, trying his hardest to keep his hands by his sides.

“Hey, bo?” The last of Rhett’s ferocity disappears at the sound of Link’s meek voice. “About what you said earlier... About taking me above the clouds?” Link blushes, lets his meaning become clear, and Rhett gives him a little _oh_ , smiling daintily at Link’s non-request.

He starts by getting up, pulling Link along with him. They hold each other as if they’re slow-dancing, arms wound around their middles, heads bowing forward in prayer that only the other will hear. Then Rhett pushes off gently, like pushing off the wall in a swimming pool, gliding simply and easily upward into the air, letting the momentum take them away. He looks up to see Link close his eyes, eyelids squeezed tightly, clinging to Rhett with a fear he hasn’t yet conquered.

It’s as if Link is the one holding _him_ up, helping him stay afloat. And maybe that’s true because Link has always had him: Rhett sees that now, feels foolish for never seeing it before.

They rise through the crisp night air, pinpricks of light appearing on the dark horizon around them. Rhett sees Link chance a look below them, feels him startle, letting out a quiet gasp. He shuts his eyes again and starts to hyperventilate – maybe it’s panic, Rhett isn’t sure – his breath coming in short and fast, and he shivers back a chill that Rhett sees pass over his arms in goose bumps.

“Hey,” Rhett says to his anxious partner. “Look around.”

Link does, replying with another gasp, and Rhett is suddenly flooded with a sweet dizziness, a sort of high emanating from the press of Link’s arms around him. He smiles into it and takes advantage, hooking an arm under Link’s butt to hold him up, snaking his free hand between them. Link had softened during the initial ascent, but it isn’t long before Rhett’s got him back again, velvety and perfect in his hand, slowly coaxing out the man’s bravery.

Eventually, Link settles, his heartbeat calming down as well, so Rhett turns him around in his arms and moulds himself along the curvature of Link’s back. Link’s got his fingers tight around Rhett’s forearms, head leaning back onto his shoulder to avoid looking down, so Rhett leans in and takes Link’s earlobe between his teeth, scraping gently until Link relaxes against him. It isn’t until his husband grinds against him when Rhett realises just how far gone he is, his dick swollen and heavy, nestled between Link’s cheeks. The feeling of hardness against soft gets another little moan out of Link, and it’s all the invitation Rhett needs. He spits into his hand and works the saliva over himself, watching Link’s mouth fall open at the rush of Rhett’s anticipation. He takes it slow, adding more spit as he goes, until Link’s hand is there as well, replacing his, palming Rhett and gripping with an insistent hand. It only takes a few strokes for Rhett to push Link’s hand away, his technique being a little too good for this. Thousands of feet in the air, Rhett has waited long enough.

He positions himself at Link’s entrance, peppering his husband’s shoulder with kisses, and waits for permission. And it’s given without hesitation, Link meeting Rhett with a push back into his pelvis, slowly impaling himself until they’re bottomed out. There’s a moment of pain, when the thin air hitches in Link’s throat, but he breathes through the pressure, while Rhett attempts to keep from moving too quickly, wanting to stretch this out for as long as he can.

 _This must be what heaven is like_ , and Rhett laughs at himself, remembering where they are. Link chuckles, too, breathless, and the sound has Rhett smiling even wider, hugging his husband even tighter, when suddenly they’re engulfed in a shroud of snowy white.

Temporarily blinded, Rhett rears back and thrusts for the first time, hearing Link groan out into the fog. He does it again, almost pulling himself out before slamming forward, but this time, his own pleasure is drowned out by another’s – by _Link’s_ – and he lets out a shocked growl as it washes over him. He chases the feeling, keeps his angle consistent, revelling in the ecstasy his husband is sharing with him, wondering why he hadn’t done this sooner. Another wave of Link’s pleasure brings it home for him: they’re finally free. No more secrets, no more hiding.

The revelation has Rhett redoubling his efforts as they continue to rise through the thick fog. He drapes his arms over Link’s shoulders, reining him in with every thrust, and Link arches from him, his ass jutting out for Rhett to plunge deeper into. It’s the symphony of bitten-off pleas and the staccato of Link’s frantic heart that spur Rhett on, striving to match each heartbeat with another push forward into the heat. And soon enough, it crescendos for both of them with a sudden flash of marbling purples and oranges, their vision returning to the sight of each other as they leave the haze behind, skin slick with condensation and sweat.

The dawn of a new day greets them as Rhett withdraws carefully and readjusts his hold on Link so that they’re chest to chest. Link slumps against him, warm cheek resting on his collarbone, watching on as the morning sun nudges just over the sea of clouds below them.

“I love you,” Rhett hears, the words slurred as Link’s heavy eyelids begin to close. “Can we go home?”

“Of course.” Pressing a kiss to his husband’s forehead, Rhett nuzzles his nose into the man’s hair, overriding his senses with everything Link. Soon, Link’s breathing slows and settles into sleep, mouth agape, a look of utter bliss on his face as he falls under, and Rhett can’t help the way his heart stutters at the feeling of his love safe in his arms.

And, as they hover together on the edge of the world, Rhett hopes Link can feel it, too.

 

**“**

**Remember when you hit the brakes too soon?**  
**Twenty stitches in the hospital room**  
**When you started crying – baby, I did, too**  
**When the sun came up, I was looking at you**

 **Remember when we couldn’t take the heat?**  
**I walked out and said, ‘I’m setting you free’**  
**When the monsters turned out to be just trees**  
**When the sun came up, you were looking at me**

**”**

_Out Of The Woods,_ Taylor Swift

**Author's Note:**

> And thus ends my Ficathon! Thanks to all who kindly read my submissions, and to those who thoroughly entertained me with their own. It was a blasty blast, and hopefully we can do this all over again at the end of season 10...? HINT HINT HINT, heh. 
> 
> Speaking of which... *celebratory spaghetti arms* JUST OVER A WEEKEND TO GO UNTIL THEY'RE BACK. YAY.


End file.
